Pompey, in the meanwhile, after the conclusion of the war against Sertorius, had conducted that against the pirates. These must have been a nuisance of long standing; for the rough inhabitants of the coasts of Cilicia had been sea-rovers for ages: even as early as the Macedonian time, they are mentioned as such; so that they must already have had their strongholds there. The coast of Cilicia was also very well suited for this; for although there were some important and thriving towns, like Tarsus, there, the people mostly dwelt in small fortified places as at Maina. Formerly this coast land had been subject to the Syrian rule; but when the power of the Seleucidæ was broken up in the year 630, Cilicia became independent, and many robbers by land and by sea settled there, especially in Κιλικία τραχεῖα. In the war of Mithridates, they were encouraged by the latter to make prizes, and their daring was beyond belief: Cicero in his oration _de imperio Cn. Pompeii_ (thus, and not _de lege Manilia_ it is called in all the MSS,) gives an idea of the extent of this pest. From the coast of Syria to the pillars of Hercules, no man was safe anywhere; all the seas were swarming with the ships of the pirates. Those whom they took prisoners they dragged into their fastnesses, obliging them to ransom themselves; or else they sold them, or tortured them to death and threw them into the sea. In Italy itself, they sacked and conquered towns: they once even landed at Ostia whence they carried off Romans of rank who were walking about the shore, even prætors with all the state attached to their office. Rome depended on supplies from Sicily and other agricultural countries, and as these were very often intercepted, the city was in constant dread of a famine. Allied with the pirates were the Cretans, who had, at all times, been robbers like them by sea and land. The naval force of the Romans had much decayed; whereas the pirates had a countless number of boats, which, though small, were too strong for a merchantman. Pompey now received the command against this enemy, and this is the most brilliant period of his life. The fame which he acquired on this occasion is well earned: his plan of operations is quite excellent. He surrounded them as with a net in a battue, and hunted them out of the most distant spots; then, more and more closely contracting his own fleet until he drove them to Cilicia, he overpowered them in a battle, took their ships, and reduced their towns, transferring the inhabitants to other places; partly into larger Cilician towns and fruitful districts, where they might gain their livelihood, and at the same time be well watched; partly also into Greece, especially into the neighbourhood of Dyme, into Achaia and the wasted countries of the Peloponnesus.